The tributes keep pouring in for late Pantera, Hellyeah, Damageplan and Rebel Meets Rebel drummer Vinnie Paul. Vinnie tragically died sometime on Friday, June 22nd in his Las Vegas home. Family members said he died in his sleep, with some sources saying a massive heart attack was the cause of his death.
Vinnie made no qualms about living the rockstar life and it seems as though life caught up with him. Vinnie's body was turned over to the local medical examiner and then will be flown back to Texas so that he could be buried between his brother, Dimebag Darrell and his mother. In a recently unearthed Metal Hammer interview, Vinnie laid out exactly what he'd want played at his funeral:
"I'd really want to choose an album that was a goddamn good time, like fuckin' Guns N' Roses [Appetite for Destruction]. I'd want people to celebrate what we've done and the fact that we'd had a great life. I wouldn't want my funeral to be a sad, sappy thing. I'd have the whole album, but 'Paradise City' and 'Welcome To The Jungle' would give off a positive vibe."
That's completely in line with Vinnie Paul's philosophy… always make sure everybody is having a great time.
Meanwhile, both surviving members of Pantera have chimed in with tributes. We reported yesterday that frontman Phil Anselmo, who is never at a loss for words, let an image do his speaking for him:
It's sad but Vinnie and Phil never reconciled before Vinnie's death. The two had a major falling out after the death of Dimebag Darrell, with Vinnie initially blaming Phil for Dime's death. Vinnie had since softened his stance but had not communicated with Phil, even though at one point, Rex said a reunion was very close to happening even though Vinnie had publicly said he would never reconcile with Anselmo.
Bassist Rex Brown shared his own tribute, where he posted a photo of Vinnie playing his bass and shared a few words for his fallen bandmate:
While writing up this story, we found this audio clip we posted a few years ago of Phil and Vinnie sharing fun Dimebag stories. I hope Vinnie and Dime are catching up right now, wherever they are.
